buy-in

noun

Support; agreement; blessing (in a secular sense).

“Let's show the idea around and get buy-in from marketing.”

Meanings

buy-in1

nounbuy-in (countable and uncountable, plural buy-ins)

plural buy-ins

  1. countableuncountableSupport; agreement; blessing (in a secular sense).

    Let's show the idea around and get buy-in from marketing.

    2 more examples

    To win, I need to get buy-in from the team to have alignment with our mission.

    China’s newly minted national parks don’t just safeguard famous keystone species such as Siberian tigers, giant pandas and Hainan gibbons. They are also designed to preserve the shrinking ecosystems that support such iconic wildlife, ranging from sweltering (tropical jungles in the southern province of Hainan to the chilly maple forests of northern Heilongjiang and Jilin Provinces bordering Siberia. As in any country, getting human buy-in for such protected spaces is essential. Visitors and local populations need to comprehend—and support—the importance of setting aside lands for biodiversity.

    2022 November 17, Paul Salopek, “A ‘Slow Storytelling’ Writing and Photography Workshop Boosts Conservation in China”, in National Geographic

    Synonyms: alignment, approval

  2. countableuncountablecard gamesA tournament where a player must purchase all of his or her chips before the tournament starts.
  3. countableuncountablecard gamesThe amount that a player buys in for

    When tournament players are eliminated but remain eager to win back their buy-in, side games often develop and upstage tournament play with limits exceeding those in the tournament.

    1983, David M. Hayano, Poker faces: the life and work of professional card players

buy-in2

nounbuy-in (plural buy-ins)

plural buy-ins

  1. A protest in which participants buy an item and return it soon after in order to slow down the store's operations.
    1 more example

    Protests against Home Depot’s alleged involvement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) worksite raids have taken the form of disruptive “buy-ins” in at least one California store, with people lining up to purchase 17-cent ice scrapers only to return them immediately. […] According to the Los Angeles Times, nearly one hundred people participated in the “buy-in” action.

    2025 November 24, Giulia Carbonaro, “Home Depot Hit by ‘ICE Scraper’ Protest As Dozens Line Up To Buy 17¢ Item”, in Newsweek, archived from the original on 24 Nov 2025

Synonyms & antonyms

nounSupport; agreement; blessing (in a secular sense).

Also see

Origin

buy-in · noun

Deverbal from buy in.

Full word history & related roots →

buy-in · noun

  1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰewgʰ-
  2. Proto-Germanic*bugjaną
  3. Proto-West Germanic*buggjan
  4. Old Englishbycġan
  5. Middle Englishbyen
  6. Englishbuy
  7. Englishbuy-in

From buy + -in.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Dutch steun
  • steunsupport
French support
  • supportsupport
German Unterstützung
  • Unterstützungsupport
Romanian susținere
  • susțineresupport
Russian подде́ржка
  • подде́ржка (poddéržka)support
Spanish soporte
  • soportesupport
Cite this entry
APA

buy-in. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/buy-in

MLA

“buy-in.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/buy-in. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “buy-in,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/buy-in.

Source: buy-in on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.